When University of Wyoming President Tom Buchanan announced his resignation last August, it took many on campus by surprise.
The decision to keep details of the search for his replacement secret prompted the Associated Press, The Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the Casper Star Tribune to file a lawsuit demanding the university release the names of the candidates. However, with the announcement of the new president expected in just a few weeks, it seems unlikely that anyone outside the selection committee will know who is in the pool.
Along with the media, many UW students also feel it is important to know who is being considered to replace him.
“We pay tuition here. This is our university. [The president] is the person who represents us,” Jeremy Adkins, a junior majoring in architectural engineering and minoring in queer studies, said. “Even if we can’t do anything about it, we should at least be aware of the process and who is being considered.”
Laura Cundy, a graduate student in the public administration program, said she felt that a certain level of privacy should be expected in the beginning as recruiting takes place. However, “the final steps should be more open,” she said.
While students agree that they should know who is being groomed to replace him, the roll Buchanan plays at UW and his impact on the lives of students is not as clear to some. “I don’t know enough about it to give a definitive answer,” Halley Reeves, a junior double majoring in criminal justice and American Indian studies, said.
“He has his hands in everything,” Adkins said. “He plays a big role in where the money is going.”
For Adkins, the president’s impact was clear. Nothing changes on campus without first getting his approval. The president is not going to do something simply to do it, he said. “He’s the end of any change of policy,” Adkins said, “He is the last signature on any legislation.”
Sean Miller, a senior in the gender and women studies program, believes the president works to ensure a balance between the needs of the students and those of the state.
Whether the president has an impact on the students life “depends on the student,” Miller said. If a student is involved in school beyond going to class and getting a degree, what the president does may have more of an impact, he said.
Cundy said the president’s role is to act as a guide. It is important for him to know the future of the institution and guide everybody else in that direction, she said.
Cundy said she felt Buchanan’s openness toward the LGBT community has had on impact on the students. UW is one of the only universities in the United States that offers a queer studies option.
Whether or not students know and understand the job of the president, most agree about the importance of knowing who will replace President Buchanan.
President Tom Buchanan announced Sept. 6 during the University of Wyoming State of the University Address that he will be stepping down after the 2012-2013 academic year. The decision to withhold details regarding the search search for his replacement has raised many concerns amongst the staff and student body at the University of Wyoming.
